Pan

image for Pan

Short takes

Not recommended under 7; parental guidance recommended 7 to 10 due to scary and violent scenes

Age
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
classification logo

This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Pan
  • a review of Pan completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 25 September 2015.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 7 Not recommended due to violence and scary scenes
Children 7 to 10 Parental guidance recommended due to violence and scary scenes
Children 10 and over OK for this age group

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Pan
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Mild themes, violence and some scary scenes
Length: 111 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Pan is the story of how Peter Pan (Levi Miller) came to live in Neverland. Peter grew up in an orphanage in London but one day Blackbeard’s (Hugh Jackman) pirates kidnap Peter and the orphan boys and take them to Neverland. While being held captive by Blackbeard, Peter becomes friends with James Hook (Garrett Hedlund). Together Hook and Peter escape Blackbeard and travel to see the people of Neverland. The warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) teaches Peter of a prophecy where one day her people will defeat Blackbeard with the help of a boy who can fly. Peter must learn to believe in himself to save Neverland and fulfil his destiny.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Loss of a parent; children as victims; pirates

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • Fighter planes are shown bombing London. The audience is never shown an actual explosion but you can see the bombs and hear the noises.
  • One of the nuns in the orphanage punishes Peter by hitting him with a cane
  • Fighter planes try to shoot down the flying pirate ship while Peter is on board. Peter almost falls out of the boat but is saved at the last minute.
  • There is an ongoing war between the pirates and the natives of Neverland so throughout the movie they fight with swords, guns and cannons. However, blood and gore are never shown.
  • Tiger Lily slaps Hook
  • Blackbeard kills the leader of the natives
  • Blackbeard burns fairies with fire, but the fairies eventually throw Blackbeard overboard to his death. 

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

  • The movie starts in London during World War II, the streets are dark and foggy, and fighter planes are dropping bombs on London. The sounds of the bombing may be scary for young children.
  • Peter’s mother is very sad when she leaves him at an orphanage as a baby. This may be distressing for young viewers.
  • Some of the nuns at the orphanage are rather mean and scary
  • Pirates come in the middle of the night to kidnap the boys from the orphanage. Some of the pirates are a bit scary. One is wearing white face paint and has a menacing look.
  • Some of the fighting scenes between the pirates and the natives may be scary for young children. Occasionally Peter or one of the other main characters look as if they are about to fall or die but they are always safe in the end.
  • Blackbeard is scary and may frighten young children
  • Blackbeard is forcing the children to work in the mines. These scenes may be a bit distressing for young children.
  • Hook and Peter are flying a pirate ship and it crashes into the forest. This scene is a bit frightening.
  • When Tiger Lily, Hook and Peter are sailing down a river some giant crocodiles attack. This scene is a bit scary as Peter is almost killed by a crocodile but is saved by the mermaids.
  • Several times the natives or the fairies show Peter a dream-like sequence of the past. These dream sequences may be a bit frightening for young children.
  • Hook falls off the boat and plummets to the ground. The audience thinks that he is dead but at the last minute Peter manages to save him.
  • Peter becomes very sad when he remembers his mother. This may be confronting for young children.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Children in this age group are also likly to be scared or disturbed by many of the above-mentioned scenes

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Some younger children in this age group may also be scared or disturbed by the above mentioned scenes

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Nothing of concern

Product placement

None of concern

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Hook occasionally flirts with Tiger Lily
  • The fairies show Pan a dream sequence where he learns that his father turned human for one night to save Pan’s mother and Pan was the child of their love.

Nudity and sexual activity

Nothing of concern

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Blackbeard inhales fairy dust to stay young

Coarse language

Nothing of concern

In a nutshell

Pan is an exciting action movie that tells the magical story of how Peter Pan came to Neverland. The film teaches children about the importance of believing in yourself and standing up for your beliefs. It is ideal for children over the age of 10. The film also illustrates the importance of family and of having a place to call home.

Because of the violence and scary elements of the film, it is not recommended for children under the age of 7 and parental guidance is recommended for 7 to10 year-olds.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include bravery and kindness.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss the use of violence to solve problems.